This invention relates to gaskets for engines and more particularly, to spaghetti seals installed in grooves in engine parts.
Engine gaskets are composed of various materials, depending on the operating environment in which the gasket is to operate. Chemical compatibility with the fluid being sealed, heat resistance, compressibility, and erosion resistance are just a few of the important factors of the operating environment which should be considered. Materials frequently used for engine gaskets can be divided between metallic (e.g. steel) and nonmetallic (e.g. fibers, rubber).
One type of engine gasket, commonly known as a "spaghetti seal", has particular requirements imposed by the operating environment. Spaghetti seals are often used as rocker cover and oil pan gaskets or for flanges that have sealing grooves to seal against splashed oil. They are characterized by their relatively small cross-sectional areas relative to their lengths, hence, their "spaghetti-like" appearance. Further, they are typically very limp. The spaghetti seals are usually inserted in narrow grooves within the surface of the rocker cover or oil pan (or mating part), which makes assembly of such seals problematic. Spaghetti seals are frequently formed of molded rubber in order to satisfy the compressibility and shape requirements. The rubber material, however, tends to be so flexible and limp as to make insertion of the seal into the narrow groove a difficult and time-consuming task.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved spaghetti-type seal for engines which can be easily and quickly installed into a narrow groove in an engine or other part.